


What's in a Name?

by Sunevial



Category: Discord Murder Party (Podcast)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 06:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19351639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunevial/pseuds/Sunevial
Summary: A quiet moment before the storm.





	What's in a Name?

“Hey Junior, mind getting that last box?” Daniel called from down the hallway, the sound of frantic paper shuffling following close behind. “I found some paperwork that must’ve slipped just under the radar, and you know how people can get when you don’t dot all your ‘i’s and cross all your ‘t’s.”

“I got, Daniel, don’t worry,” Junior shouted in reply, chuckling a little under his breath. His guardian had a knack for many things; city bureaucracy was not one of them. Without so much as breaking a sweat, he heaved the flimsy cardboard box under his arm, arranging the worn tennis rackets and taped-up hockey sticks in just the right fashion to not get an accidental stab wound. Satisfied that the worn sports equipment wasn’t going to make him walk away with one less eye, he casually kicked the car door shut and headed into the community center. 

In his humble opinion, the most dangerous thing about ‘sports night’ were the unsupervised children running about like they owned the place. They should be the ones filling out all of the ‘please don’t sue us’ forms.

“Hey, where do you want this?” Junior asked, poking his head into the makeshift cafeteria/gymnasium/stage/makeshift town meeting hall. Nets and basketball hoops were haphazardly scattered throughout the room, forming what could be considered a sports center if you squinted and were happening to be standing on your head. 

“Oh, just set it next to the volleyball net for now, should be riiiiiight over there,” Daniel said, pointing off to a net that probably had one-night stand with a pair of scissors. 

“You got it.” Giving a small salute, he crossed the gym floor and unceremoniously plopped both the box and himself on the ground. With equal amounts of care and efficiency, he placed the various balls and bats and rackets into small piles. After a bit of rummaging, he spotted a deflated, and honestly rather lonely, basketball. “Hey Daniel, do we have the budget for more basketballs? ‘Cause I think this was the last one.”

A large sigh came from across the hall. “I was afraid of that,” Daniel replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, maybe we can start a fundraiser for new sporting equipment…it has been a couple of years at this point…” 

“What’s this I hear about fundraising?” 

Considering he hadn’t heard the squeaky back door even open, Junior spun around and got to his feet more than a touch confused. A woman stood at the far end of the hall, a short woman at that. Though hard to make out at this distance, her dark brown hair was cropped close to her chin. She gave them both a wide smile, quickly closing the gap between them. “If you needed new equipment, you should’ve told me, Daniel.”

“I know, I know, I just didn’t want to bother you,” Daniel said with a sheepish laugh, his smile brightening somehow even more than usual. “You are quite the busy woman, after all.”

“Never too busy for you,” she corrected, her eyes now falling on Junior. Even up close, it was impossible to tell her age. She looked both old and young, or maybe she looked neither old nor young, wearing a modest sundress with a collar just low enough to show off a small black star tattoo along her collar bone. Her face softened as she looked him over, warm eyes giving what could only be described as a mother’s gaze. “And besides, I did need to introduce myself to your newest kid.”

“Ah, yes, right, of course, how could I forget?” Daniel cleared his throat, making the slightest of gestures to the shorter woman. “Junior, I’d like you to meet Maggie, the, well I guess you could call her the founder of our little group here. The ‘original’ Black Star even. Maggie, this is Junior, our newest addition to the family.”

Giving a small smile of his own, Junior stuck his hand out in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Maggie.”

She took it, her grip surprisingly firm. “Just Maggie, please,” she said with a light giggle. “And it’s always nice to see a new face around here. Are you liking it here so far?”

“Yeah, I am, actually.” Junior nodded his head as he looked around the room, shuffling his feet ever so slightly. “Certainly beats the last couple places I’ve been. There’s actual food here. And things to do. And people don’t try and pick a fight with you every five seconds.”

Maggie gave a nod of understanding, casting her own eyes around the dimly lit recreational center. “That was the hope when I set up the Black Stars,” she said, touching one of the worn net posts. “It would be a place of safety and comfort, where there could be real change and progress. A way for others to make a difference in their communities, you know?”

“I think I do, yeah,” Junior said, the smile on his face turning more genuine. He hadn’t interacted with a large number of the Black Star adults, but he could tell this one was cut from the same cloth as Daniel. Someone who really, truly did want to help. Hell, if she was the founder, she might’ve even taught that to him. “It’s…a place to make the world better.”

“It is,” Maggie echoed, the smile on her face brightening. “I can see Daniel’s taught you well.”

“Oh, I’ve just been building up what’s already there,” Daniel said, lightly clapping junior on the shoulder. “Reinforcing the good bits and helping him get on his feet. He’s a good kid. Strong, capable, full of potential, and not to mention not bad at all with a frying pan. Kid makes some good bacon.”

Junior chuckled, giving Daniel a playful shove back. “Only because you burn it every single time. A guy’s gotta do what he’s gotta do for decent bacon.”

Another giggle escaped Maggie’s lips, the pride absolutely shining in her eyes. “Well, I’m glad to see the two of you getting along so well.” Her smile was warm, loving even. “And I’m happy to see you settled in so well, Junior.”

A sharp knock on the door broke the three of them out of their trance. “You know what, why don’t I get that, and the two of you can continue doing your meet and greet,” Daniel said with a bit more haste than normal. With only the haste a distracted father can possess, Daniel leapt away from the conversation and jogged towards the end of the hall. “Now hold your horses, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Maggie just sighed and shook her head. “He’s always been like that, trying to do a thousand things at once, try and make everyone as happy as can be” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m glad I could help him get to where he is today.”

“You mean to say that was your doing?” Junior asked, tilting his head to the side. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you look a little…uh…”

“Young?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Age is just a number, though time has been kind to me,” she said with a wink. “When I met him, he was lost and afraid, without direction. He needed a guiding hand, and I was lucky enough to provide it. My hope with the Black Stars was to give him and some of my other ‘kids’ the chance to give others that guidance and help.” 

Junior smiled ever so slightly. “Well, this is just my opinion, but I think you’ve done just that, Miss Maggie.”

She returned it with one of her own. “I hope I have.” With a sigh, she glanced up at the clock and then to the veritable onslaught of waiting children. “I’m very sorry. I’d love to stay and help you out with the kids, but I can’t be as involved with the day to day activities anymore.”

“It’s alright, I think we can take care of the little devils,” he said with a slight smirk. “And if they get rowdy enough, they’re light enough to pick up.”

“I suppose you’re right about that,” she said with a laugh. She tapped her finger against her chin, a slightly curious look coming into her eyes. “You know, I have an event coming up I could really use your help with. There’s going to be food drive downtown, and I need a couple of strong young men to help move around the donations. Think you might be able to swing by the Goodman Center next Friday around eight or nine? I know it’s a bit off the beaten path, but we’d love to have you there.”

Junior tapped his foot a couple of times before gesturing to his guardian. “I’ll have to see what Daniel thinks, but I think I can do that,” he said with a shrug. “Now, I don’t have a problem with the rougher areas of town, but I’m not sure if he wants me walking that far that late at night.”

“Well, let me know if you can,” Maggie said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small business card. The Black Stars logo sat in the center, framed with her contact information. “And besides, it’s normally not that dangerous. Sure, people get mugged every so often, but that’s been happening less these days.”

Though he tried to stop himself, he chuckled ever so slightly as he read over the card. 

“What’s so funny?” Maggie asked, jokingly raising an eyebrow.

Junior flipped the card between his fingers, smirking ever so slightly. “Do people seriously call you ‘the Witch of the Black Stars’?”

She giggled, the sound ringing just a touch eerily in his eardrums.

“Only the people who _really_ don’t like me.”


End file.
